Singlespeed & Fixed Gear"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Ah I see, well my friend wants to order the h+son for his kilo tt, hes not doing tricks or anything he doesnt know if he wants the formation face or sl42 should he get 28 spokes then? what would you guys get? sl32 with 28?

Can always count on Sheldon. Yes, that pattern looks very pretty. I was thinking I would do a traditional 3 cross on the rear wheel, and I think I will do this 3L - 3F pattern for my front. Thanks for showing me!

Lower wheel weight shouldn't matter (no real benefit) unless the rider has shed excess weight (big bag, baggy clothes, u-lock etc). No reason to sacrifice strength for a negated weight difference. Strength is more important for the rear, of course. Have a little fun with your front wheel.

I have a friend with a front 3L/3T pattern, and it does look sweet. I have my rear done in a 36h 4x pattern which is as solid as they come. My front is a 32h crow's-foot-alternate-radial which is pretty sweet too.

it's been my experience that that the quality of the build is more important than the number of spokes or the depth of the rim. one of my wheelsets is 28h low flange hubs laced 3 cross to low profile rims. i had them handbuilt at the LBS by someone whom i had heard good things about. granted i'm not all that heavy (140lbs) but these wheels have held up very well to street riding, potholes and all.

contrast that to a set of 36h (probably) machine-built deep v's i got on ebay that were constantly going out of true.

low flange hubs are better than high for the street? who makes some good 28h ones for a reasonable price?

neither is inherently "better" for the streets. low flange are slightly lighter but i wouldn't worry about it too much. since he's going with h+son's, these aren't really going to be weight weenie wheels anyway.

don't be fooled by the janky website. they are in fact legit. if your friend is trying to keep costs down i'd go with miche hubs. they seem to have the best bang:buck ratio in the lower end price range ($120 for the pair from the same site). whatever you do, if you're going for a custom built wheelset, don't cheap out on some crappy formulas.